1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a foldable battery charger.
2. Description of the Related Art
Battery chargers are relatively large, bulky pieces of equipment. They typically have a rigid housing which can be moved but is difficult to transport by foot because of the weight and volume they occupy. Persons working in the field and military personnel have a need to carry battery chargers with them.
Some foldable equipment having batteries or chargers has been proposed in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,615 discloses a flexible belt with a charger and batteries for a video camera. The power belt has a dedicated charging unit which can only charge one type of battery. The battery packs do not include hinges between them to allow the packs to stack on top of each other.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2005/0052156 shows a charging mat having an embedded control switching circuit. The charging mat does not include wires that connect discrete battery charging interfaces to allow stacking The charging mat does not include charging jacks of different types which nest together in a mating fashion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,089 discloses a flexible sheet material having embedded cables to couple various electronic devices. The device uses flat cables 46, 56, and 64, which has been shown to prematurely fail when bent repeatedly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,942 shows a battery pack with foldable panels, attached batteries and a charger. The battery pack does not include an on-board charging unit and does not fold into a compact state.
None of the references show battery charging interfaces for different types of batteries, jacks disposed in staggered patterns to facilitate storage and transport, or the ability to couple several units together.